Raymond Blanc's Flour Less Chocolate Cake

My first decent picture!

There are a few cooking shows that really arouse my enthusiasm, to give me the oomph and drive to get up and do something about it. Raymond Blanc's "How To Cook Well" is a marvel, being divided into 6 episodes each based on a particular cooking technique with 'baking" engaging my attention.

I believe that anything and everything we read, look at, purchase or give attention to is to inspire us to become a better version of ourselves. Indeed this cake did for me. Having had this recipe on my mind for a while, it was due time that it was made.

I have always wanted a simple chocolate mousse recipe and alas I found one that is divine to the truth that simplicity is always best. The mousse consisted of egg white, 72% chocolate and sugar... the holy trinity for some devoted dessert fanatics. The bottom half was almost souffle like as it cooked, rising way above the lined tin and cushioning down on itself to settle into a chocolate cake base.

The union of these two desserts, that could hold their own on separate plates, would be thought of being heavy and sickly sweet if the ingredients were unknown. In fact, the coming together of the mousse and cake is like a perfect couple. They both make each other a better half, complement one another and love each other enough to bring the best out of their romance for others to enjoy.

I would be proud to recreate this with the chocolate tuile sitting pretty as a perfect circle on top of the mousse. Also, to create a perfect border for the cake from the tuile, slightly higher than the mousse or even more so a mountainous border using the tuile with sharp jagged edges and lines. Creating this border would allow for the perfect accompaniment of strawberries to be pooled inside. Creating a tuile white in colour would be a very interesting challenge as well. Creating the same cake with a white chocolate mousse would be aesthetically pleasing with the two desserts meeting along the side going up and down in the manner of a wave.

A small note for tuile making enthusiasts, cover each layer of tuile with baking paper and store in a sealed container in the fridge as this prevents the tuiles from becoming moist and hard to handle.

The instructions and simplicity of this cake allowed for my first attempt to come out near perfect.

The recipe can be found here.

The recipe provides quantities for two cakes each of 14 cm diameter or one cake of about 25c m in diameter.

The cake was made as a thank you for the peeps at Devon Cafe, Surry Hills which made a special treat for a friend as her father had passed away. Being such a capable team, I doubt if any non professionals would give a gift of food to them...I hope they liked it.

Over the same weekend, an engagement was announce by two dear friends as I started making this cake, I couldn't help but think of them as I put it all together.

As I mentioned before and will do in many a next posts, keeping someone or people in my mind whilst creating anything will always help me achieve my desired outcome.

- Mith

Pierre Herme's "Pastries" - A Humble Apple Tart

"I love when it rains because it sounds like something is cooking on the stove" is what I wrote on my Facebook wall over the weekend.

I thought nothing of it until quite a few "likes" for my little thought accumulated. There is no sweeter sound than that of butter sizzling in a pan having added something to saute. The act of sauteing is to gently heat and initiate the start of the caramelisation process to bring out the natural sugars of anything, from a steak to an apple.

Sydney city had some rain filled moments that steered me into the direction of baking a dessert. Having acquired 2 books recently, Pierre Herme's "Pastries" and Olivier Dupon's "The New Patissiers" I spent part of my Saturday evening into how I would use some apples that were given to me by a charity that collects food from cafes and passes it on to people that would use it at home. Similar to that of Oz Harvest but under a different organisation.

The beauty of Pierre Hermes' book is that it provides sound knowledge and history of desserts that we take for granted and believe to have been since the beginning of sugary times. It goes into detail about the Tart Tatin, the Macaron, the simple Chocolate Cake, the Eclair and even the humble Australian Peach Melba.

The other aspect of the book that gives it a winning factor is that after the knowledge of each of these classic desserts is passed on, a recipe for perfection along the lines of the original is provided. The importance of understanding the classics and where they came from are imperative to know what can be done in the future. Here lies where I found my recipe for these little apples. From the timeless Apple Strudel comes the classic Apple Tart with Sweet Almond Milk.

As simple as it was I didn't see it being too original but what I did like about it was that it was simple and used various textures from the walnuts to sauted apple left to macerate in the fridge to the finely sliced apples allowed to bake on top of the tart to become dry and crisp. The almond syrup is a clever addition as anything almond flavoured especially in a milk form creates an emulsion with the apples juices that would pass as a top line perfurme. In saying this, the good measure of a book is known once a recipe is followed and it comes out as it should. This one fit the bill, very well.

I look forward to making a few more of the desserts from the book to understand the original and history and then having a go at Herme's attempt of a recreation.

- Mith

Mindy's "Cake Full of Possies" Birthday Cake

Finally, my own photo. I need to update the other blogs with my own photos. 

Having received a plethora of cake baking books for Christmas from my partner's sister, Mindy, I offered to make her a cake. I find it hard to bake without inspiration. When I have my mind set on making food for someone, it always turns out the way I envision it. There have been times where I cook for no reason, just to practice something or try something new and most of the time, it turns out a dud. For this reason, I always ask people what  their favourite dessert is so that when I do make it on a whim, I have them in my mind whilst I make it. Food association. I associate my family and friends favorite foods with their face so my feelings and thoughts for them get transferred into my cooking effort. I know it sounds weird but it is true.

In saying all this I am having a hard time writing clearly.

So anyway, monumental task number one: Making the fondant. This is the smooth covering on the outside of wedding cakes and fancy birthday cakes. It is being used on every celebratory morsel of food lately... little old butter cream has been getting no love, although it is making a comeback with some fabulous recipes (MasterChef Opera cake: http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/masterchef/recipes/gateau-opera). I have been slowly getting better at noticing trends in food, definitely not fashion. Having a strong background in mathematics and being fond of numbers I do enjoy picking up on similarities and differences as the seasons pass by in particular.

The recipe I used was from Plant Cake's cook book. The recipe works a treat, as long as you are calm and relaxed as I mentioned in my earlier post about making pastry (insert link). It says to use 1 kg of icing sugar but I use 500g at first. Once most of the icing sugar has been incorporated with the wet ingredients, I slowly add 200g more of icing sugar a table spoon full at a time. The fondant mixture may seem dry but it can absorb a lot more sugar. This is important because the cake will then have a nice smooth coating once it is dry, not a sticky surface that absorbs more water from the air (hygroscopy).

I have all these cake books and I have always wanted to at least make one cake or item from each book and pay tribute to the authors that created these.

This cake I made is called A Cake Full of Possies. Or something. It sounds very girly and indeed it is.

This cake came from the Women's Weekly decorating cakes. I didn't follow the instructions too much but just copied the lay out design of the cake as it was quite straight forward. I did follow the instructions for the cake recipe. Plain old vanilla was the order of the day. A great part of the book is recipes for each type of cake with quantities and times for various sizes and shapes of the desired cakes. Very helpful.

The cake is vanilla encased in a chocolate ganache then covered with fondant. The ball itself is made of styrofoam and the supporting stick was a chopped down chop stick. The support for the top tier were 3 bamboo skewers cut down to the height of them bottom tier. In saying this, when some recipes call for fancy equipment and tools, just use what you have and be creative as most of the time some of these "neccesities" will cost too much. An example I can think of is the cardboard lined with baking paper tower I used for my croquembouche construction, which I shall save for another post.

A Timeless Treat... the famous Tart Tatin.

These photos make me cringe, I promise to use better ones in the future!

 El classiquo (I just made that up. Who am I not to be able to create new words =)

The timeless Tart Tatin. What is so special about it?

It is like a pizza, made upside down, for the sweet tooth, using puff pastry.

I can be sure when I say, that all the life changing scientific discoveries were not found by defining a problem and then coming up with a solution.

"example". 

Most scientific/technological developments have come from seeing the problem first and then scratching the noggen thinking about what we have in our little heads to fix this.

"example".

We all know the story. Some lady screwed up some apples burning in caramel sauce so she covered it with puff pastry and left it in an oven as she had guests at her hotel.

The problem was caramel burning in a pot, getting the better of some apples that deserved some loyal attention.

The fix came with the blanket of buttery puff pastry.

The win, is for mankind.

I heard about this for years but never thought twice about giving it the time of day in my kitchen.

I first made it from Curtis Stone's cook book he made with Coles. Just from his 2 sentence blurb on the dessert I gave it a crack. I made it for my partner as she was sick and wanted risotto and I wanted something for the both of us. One hour later, a little bit of history wafted through my kitchen.

So back to the original question, what makes this so special?

Simplicity... fruit, caramel, pastry. It is like a holy trinity for that of a pastry chef. Similar to that of an Italian chef with carrots, onions and celery or an Indian cook with corriander, cumin and turmeric.

Blessed are we that in this country we have great quality fruit available all year round. In conjunction with caramel of the simplest form, sugar, water and butter, then glazed over fruit is already a winning combination. But, with the addition of ye old faithful, carbs, to complete the trifecta of a winning ticket. The puff pastry that seperates its layers as it protetcts the fruit poaching in the caramel is then filled and soaked with the caramel and juices of the fruit as it is flipped over to be served.

I know a good thing when I taste it. When I get excited about something, my voice level increases drastically. When I see someone I am fond of, I feel like squeezing them till they pass out. When I taste something I know is a fine piece of work, I want to break a plate over my head and take another mouth!

I get excited very easily.

That and too much testosterone.

Lemon Tart made from Heston Blumenthal's "Heston at Home"

I have been thinking about shops and companies that create one thing and do it well. The perfect example is the Aussie staple of chicken and chips. Made by many and  tasty to some, but there was always space for improvement. Then came El Jannah in Granville making the charcoal-iest ( i just made that up) chicken, Lebanese style. I also need to add that they do a damn fine potato chip too which I believe is under rated but is just as important as the chicken. Bourke Street Bakery have taken many goods over the years and crafted them to perfection, although their prices are inflated rather exponentially. My point is, do one thing and do it well.

The Lemon Tart I made from Heston's book is such an example. Something that is thought of as a staple in the Australian dessert culture but often over looked and accepted for what it has been. I present to you this Lemon Tart I believe a business empire could be built on.

On Tuesday the following night, I calmed myself to a meditative state as working with pastry, a Zen like state of mind is required. Any small feeling of anxiety and stress will be apparent as soon as my hands touch this sensitive little square of dough.

Two sheets of baking paper.

Roll.

Freeze for 30 minutes.

Leave on top of the tart for 30 minutes to line and let sink in slightly, then minimally touching the pastry to line the tart tin.

Freeze for 30 minutes.

That's an hour and a half of just rolling and lining the tart tin. I know it seems excessive but I believe the tart case to be more important than the filling as it is the packaging for the recipients of such fine work. That and I am paranoid of ruining a good thing. Lucky I was born with patience.

It came out a treat. I mean, as I did not trim the edges of the pastry in cases of shrinkage (if you are smiling you have a dirty mind, yet imaginative) the pastry fell over the tart tin edge and fell off leaving small biscuits in the oven tray. The lemony smell of these small biscuits burnt my tongue as I there is no better taste of fresh biscuits as they crumble in your mouth and the whole things pretty much turns back into sugary lemony butter. Just like a good chip being over looked to eye the crowning glory of a charcoal chicken of any dinner table, the tart case is the means and packaging of a seriously good lemon tart.

The other winning factor for this lemon tart is the lemon filling itself as it is cooked precisely to 70 degrees C. Like any good dish, controlling the temperature is imperative to acquire a premium taste. Examples include Hai Nan chicken where a whole chicken is immersed in a master stock that has reached boiling point and allowed to cool for an hour.

As you can see my temperature probe fell in at precisely 70 degrees C 

so that the lemon filling set around indentation.

Shane Delia's 12 hour slow roasted lamb dish from his restaurant Maha is another gorgeous example. The lamb is cooked for 12 hours at a temperature of 75 degrees C which means the meat will cook slowly and uniformly. This creates meat that flakes away from the bone, becoming drop dead gorgeous as it breaks off. The key is that the meat never actually goes past the set temperature which means it will not dry out. Twelve hours at 75 degrees will surely cook through any meat, especially if it attached to the bone.

The same can be said about anyone that makes their steaks with a scientific probing thermometer...65 for rare, 70 medium, 75 well done.

The simple boiled egg with a par cooked runny yolk that does not give us any scares is precisely cooked at 65 degrees, with egg whites cooking at a lower temperature.

It is for this reason the lemon filling is cooked to 70 degrees allowing the lemon concoction containing egg yolk to set without over cooking or making the filling too firm. This is how a perfect finish is achieved. Jewel like. That velvety finish everyone goes on about regarding ganache and ice cream. In this dish is where the true meaning lies.

After 20 minutes the lemon filling was checked as the required temperature was closing in. Twenty five minutes hit the spot. The tart was allowed to cool in the tin as I didn't want to run the risk of the filling being too heavy for the pastry walls, as it had softened under the heat but would harden up as it cooled.

For aesthetics, each slice was sifted with icing sugar and caramelized for that amber crunch to flourish alongside the other textures and tastes.

The filling was opposite to that of sucking on a lemon warhead. It did not make your face implode like too many good Australian citizens have come to expect of this country's culinary staple. It was half way between a butter and a jelly, flavored for days with lemon that made the glands in your body salivate. Not just the ones in your mouth.

Friends of mine were the ones to benefit from this dish that I was sure to be a hit, as I raved on about how good it was as I gave it to them. They told me it was good. Hopefully not because I had told them it was good before they ate it. Maybe. As the dish came from the mind of Heston and followed to a T by moi, you can be assured that it was at least better than the norm.

It was freaking A-mazing, I promise!

O.k. that's enough of that.

Just trust me ; )

Long Weekend Celebrations

Note to self: I need better photographs, so ask Bud.

Also note to self, write post about my perfect cup of tea.

Two items were created this weekend, an Almond Tea Cake for Bud's birthday celebration with her family and also some White Chocolate Macadamia Tarts from the Lindt Chocolate Recipe book.

First the Almond Tea Cake... made upon request by my best friend for her birthday. Nice and simple, just like her. Any cake with almonds in it is always a hit, it makes anything remind me of a macaron. Which isn't as bad as it sounds considering how the macaron phase is slowly dying away. Classics are always classics so it will be stay around forever and make a comeback in the not too distant future, just like Rocky B.

Back to the cake, it was made because it it simple and for the fact it has a very unique crunch factor. The top of the cake is crumbled  with a mixture of brown sugar, butter and flour creating a biscuit like topping similar to that of sand and small rocks. Once baked it forms the sweetest crust for such a simple cake. Almonds and a crunchy topping in a cake is a winning combination... I'm pretty sure Akuma's "Rage" was based on this combination idea.

Monday morning I was going to make a cheesecake but after some reading I realised it was going to be too sweet, so instead I will be using the ingredients to make other goodies.

Looking through my shelf of knowledge I pulled out my Lindt Recipe Book and flipped the pages over to a White Chocolate and Macadamia tarts. Made more like a cake mix, there was no pastry lining the bottom of the tart tins, which in turn I should have thought harder and made a finer mixture of the nuts so that the tart would set once baked. As I popped out the first one, a small but in the middle had broken off the bottom so I could get a glimpse inside. It was still moist and gooey like a soft centered pudding, but the outside was just set and wobbly like jelly. Knowing a good thing when I see it, I flipped it over, dusted it in icing sugar and pretty much breathed it in. Some berries or a strawberry sauce would have gone well, especially to make the photo a bit more pleasant to look at. Anyway, it is now here for reference.

I also started making a Lemon Tart from Heston Blumenthal's TV show How To Cook Like Heston. I made this tart once before and it was so F*&^%$ good. The pastry I made last night, will make a soft and super buttery biscuit which I believe the key ingredient being the icing sugar as it is able to completely dissolve into the egg yolks. I shall attempt to finish the tart case tonight as good pastry can not be a rushed dish. Will post it tomorrow ; )

Peace.

Essential Ingredient = Focus

My friend in crime, Luke, keeps going on about chocolate mousse. Making a dish is easier for me if I think of someone as I create it, that way it means more to me and I care for the finished product to be top quality.

As I made the mousse, my electronic scales stopped working which is something like Einstein not having light to figure out the theory of relativity... or like a car with no petrol.

I carried on using experience as a guide for creating this dish for my friend I care about, although the finished product did not display the feelings I have for our friendship. To say the least I was not too happy, but happy enough to satisfy my chocolate craving that Sunday afternoon. 

The life lesson behind this is to focus on one step at a time. 

I know I am capable of creating some nice desserts although lately they have been shocking, but in a good way, when I do show something nice I will be like the "little engine that could". 

After all the ingredients had been folded together, I added some raw cacao powder for some bitterness as it was a bit too much on the sweet side of life. Hence the grainy look in the photo. There is only so much my girl can do to edit the photo to try and make it look delectable.

All in all, this is to be created again with my friend in mind and made with patience plus a working scale so that it comes out looking the way it should.

To be recreated.